Seward House Museum
For Immediate Release
November 29, 2012
Media Contact:
Nicole Mahoney
585-451-0050
Seward House Historic Museum in Auburn offers five-dollar “Lincoln Tour.”
Tour showcases the working relationship and personal friendship
between the President and his Secretary of State.
Auburn, NY – With the recent release of the movie Lincoln, everyone is talking about the 16th President of the United States, and his accomplishments. The movie chronicles the deft political maneuvering that was required to get the Thirteenth Amendment to pass the House of Representatives during what proved to be the closing days of the Civil War. A key player in this process was William H. Seward, President Lincoln’s Secretary of State. While the movie portrays the working relationship of these two powerful and gifted politicians, in reality, their bond ran much deeper.
Seward and Lincoln were friends. Close friends. Whose relationship developed from a mutual respect of ideals and an unwavering fervor for the abolition of slavery.
Seward could often be found in Lincoln’s office developing strategies for their ultimate goal of nationwide abolition. But after hours, Lincoln was often spotted heading to Seward’s Washington D.C. home to discuss everything from the war to the family. Seward was a Sunday morning fixture at the White House, during Lincoln’s “down time,” chatting with him during his weekly barber appointment.
After a near-death carriage accident involving Seward, Lincoln went directly to Seward’s bedside, upon his return from Richmond, where he had discussed the terms of the upcoming and inevitable surrender with Ulysses S. Grant. And because of their close and influential relationship, an assassination attempt was made on Seward the same night Lincoln was shot.
These are just the more public facts of their relationship, which is why the Seward House Museum in Auburn, NY is offering the “Lincoln Tour.” The tour will show museum visitors the actual artifacts of these two men’s world-changing professional relationship, but also of their genuine friendship. Visitors will get to see Seward’s appointment document where Lincoln names him Secretary of State, hear letters about the President and his relationship with not only Seward but his family, Lincoln’s presence throughout the Seward Home and more. Tours start December 1 and will be offered Thursdays and Saturdays at 1pm. Tours cost only five dollars, the bill that has Lincoln’s portrait on it. For more information and to make a reservation for the Lincoln Tour visit sewardhouse.org or call 315-252-1283. Individual and group tours welcome.
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About the Seward House
The Seward House was built in 1816 by William Seward’s father-in-law and was passed to Seward in 1851. Seward made his home a stop on the Underground Railroad even during his tenure in Washington D.C. Upon leaving Washington, Seward returned to his beloved home, and lived there until his death in 1872. The house was passed down through the family until 1951 when William Henry Seward III died and his will called for the house to be opened to the public as a museum. It took four years to catalog and organize the belongings of four generations before the museum opened in 1955.
About the Museum
The Seward House Museum was founded in 1951 and opened to the public in 1955. It became a registered National Historic Landmark in 1964 and in 2009 was established as a fully independent museum. The elegant interior has been restored to its original beauty and features an entirely original collection that spans William Seward’s nearly forty-year political career. The Museum offers several educational and seasonal programs in addition to guided house tours. The Museum is closed during January, open by appointment only in February, and resumes regular hours in March. Details on programs, events and hours can be found at www.sewardhouse.org or by following the Seward House Museum on Facebook.